Hey Everyone, so many, many hours later, I've made it to England! It was a pretty nice day and I got to pick up my nephew from nursery school. I'm absolutely shatteringly exhausted, but right now I'm watching Winnie the Pooh with my nephew. Gonna eat, have a glass of wine and go pass out. Happy Weekend Everyone!

Habitat is an awesome European store. It is the lower price range brainchild of Terence Conran, of the Conran Shop, and falls somewhere in between Ikea and Design Within Reach. Many a time I have walked by its windows lamenting the fact that they do not have an American store. I especially love the armchair! When Habitat when? There is a market here for you! (P.S. I will be traveling all day tomorrow so no posts. Look for me on Friday!)

I sort of feel like I'm sharing a big secret with you all when I write about this, one of my most favorite stores in the whole wide world. It is called Tabio and it sells Japanese socks. They aren't just any old socks. These socks are amazing and fun and really interesting. If you are in London, you must must must check out one of their many locations. Otherwise, they do have an online store.

I just ran across this charming blog, Notes by Naive, and her wonderful series of Lo-Fi Guides to various cities around the world. It's a perfect start to my Anglomaniac posts! Tommy lives in London so she really knows the city very well. Check out the other cities too: Paris, New York, Madiera, Portland, San Francisco and Singapore.

For those of you who know me well, you know that I'm not just an Anglophile, I'm an Anglomaniac. It probably doesn't hurt that I grew up in a British Colony, or that my sister and her family live in one of the most charming villages in Somerset. I'm happy to announce that in honor of my upcoming trip to Bath (I leave on Thursday) I will posting about inspirations from Great Britain this week and next.

Just got back from Chicago. It was a long and emotional weekend, but it was beyond wonderful to be with my family. And Chicago is such a cool (both literally and figuratively) city! I loved being there, despite the sad circumstances. I'll be back up and posting starting tomorrow.

Remodelista (a great blog all around) has an awesome post up vis a vis rustic european kitchens. It's hard for me to choose which one I like the best. But since I really like pine wood I chose the one above.

I'm feeling a little stressed out today, friends. I'm unexpectedly heading out of town tomorrow for a memorial service in Chicago and on top of being sad I also always freak out the day before leaving on a trip. In the past two years I've traveled so much that you'd think that I would have gotten used to this already. I have to remind myself today to stop, breathe, look at the sky and listen for the birds that have started to chirp again. I have to remind myself that I believe in small victories and being grateful for all the beauty that graces my life.

You guys, I think I may have found the perfect place! Too bad it belongs to someone else and is worth millions of dollars. But just look at how incredibly beautiful this Soho loft is. Read the article and see the full slide show here. PS-Thanks for the link, A!

Le Roi et Le Bon Saint Eloi is a french papeterie that rocks my world. I have a couple of these little notebooks and they are perfect for just about anything. I espcially like to bring them with me when I travel. I wonder if their goods are available stateside. (Sorry I couldn't get better pictures for you guys!)

Fashion is on the mind today for some reason. I have a couple of shirts from this LA based company and let me tell you how amazing they are. They are made of the softest most thin cotton and supremely comfortable, but little details like ruffles and silk hems give them a little sex appeal. A rare combination that sometimes I feel was made especially for me. Even my Mom was asking me where I got them. The pieces are a little above my budget as t-shirts or nice shirts go, so keep an eye out for them on sale at Barneys Coop and La Garconne.

I'm loving this newish commercial for Miss Dior Chérie perfume. Saw it a few weeks ago and have been trying to track it down ever since. It's making me excited for 1) springtime and 2) going to Paris--where I lived in high school--with A.--who's never been there--in May!

If you are like me, then you also like big slouchy leather bags with shoulder straps that are supple and soft and come in brilliant colors. If you are like me then you will love m0851. A Montreal based company, m0851 makes the best bags. Really. I have a few of the weekenders (the best for traveling!) and usually can't resist stopping into one of their two Manhattan stores when I go home to visit my parents. (The upper east side store is conveniently located right next to the place where I get my hair cut when I'm in NY.) Luckily for those of us who have ventured away from the Big Apple, or who were never there in the first place, they have a website. Unluckily, these bags are tres chere. But nothing beats the store. You have to feel this leather to believe it, people.

I'm a sleepy cat today. Maybe it's because of all the good eating and drinking I did last night with A. We went out to our favorite restaurant and I had an endive salad with grapefruit and then handmade gnocchi with lamb. He had cabbage salad with apples and gorgonzola and then and yummy fish stew. It was soooo good....

The news from the past weekend's wildfires in Australia is beyond grim. The devastation wreaked is truly unimaginable. There was a wildfire here in Boulder just a few weeks ago, nothing compared to what has believed to have burned over 900 homes, but enough that it scared me as I watched the dancing flames from my front porch. My heart goes out to the survivors and to those 150 odd people who have been lost.

hello! bonjour. hola. bom dia.

My name is Honora, and I am writer and grad student in San Francisco, CA. I love British mysteries, the word vermillion, sitting in the sun after a nice swim, and logging time in international airport terminals (and the countries that they take me to). Thanks for visiting!

Feel free to leave comments on posts, or to get in touch by e-mail: byitsowndesign@gmail.com.

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